SHAPES launches advisory council
It’s a part of an educational system that could easily be neglected, but
in Belize is very much at the forefront. Ann-Marie Williams reports.
Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting
The School Health and Physical Education Services, SHAPES, met this morning to officially launch its National Advisory Council. Of the thirteen members comprising the council drawn for NGOs, the schools and C.E.O.’s from the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Human Development and Education, only seven were actually present. While the absentees didn’t hinder the launch, those never appointed did.
Sherlene Tablada, Co-ordinator, SHAPES
“Well the actual thing is we had sat down and identify the thirteen members who we thought would represent the stakeholders best, but with everything else, everybody wants to be represented. So we will take a second look at it and see if it’s necessary to revisit it and do additional members, or if we are comfortable with what we have developed so far.”
While the council looks at what they have developed so far, and which religious denominations to include, the concept of SHAPES is here to stay. Co-ordinator Sherlene Tablada says the SHAPES curriculum already being used in school, outlines basic skills, attitudes and values children need to develop healthy lifestyles.
Sherlene Tablada
“Basically we look at children learning about their body, which we feel is very important in building self-esteem in order to learn more about their self and what their all about. The curriculum brings out topics like nutrition, the environment, which we feel is very important, basic interaction with each other. And basically the curriculum looks at how we could incorporate skills training into all these topics so that children could develop their skills in order to cope with all the pressures being put on them by society.”
Nutrition is a major component of SHAPES, yet government has not committed to fund the feeding programme for primary schools.
Sherlene Tablada
“It is a commitment that government has made and sad to say, maybe has not lived up to it as much as they should have. What we have been seeing is the business community playing a big role in trying to donate and give different donations to the school to manage the programme, we see the parent chipping in a bit. And we see the school doing a lot of fundraising to ensure that the programmes continue. But it’s something that the council can take up with government to ensure that they subsidise more in making the programmes more successful.”
One of the line ministries of SHAPES is health. C.E.O. Henry Anderson is proud that his ministry has supported the curriculum from its inception in 1999.
Henry Anderson, CEO, Ministry of Health
“We do health promotions through HECOPAB, Health Education and Community Participation Bureau. We have trained many teachers throughout the entire country to teach the kids about health and living healthy lifestyles. We also go in with our district officers to touch different issues as requested by teachers. Our public health inspector ensures that the schools are healthy for the kids, looking at the toilet and that sort of issue. We have also, with the assistance of foreign donors, put in for example, proper bathroom facilities for kids. And actually just this past week, we sent out about forty vats to rural schools to ensure that they have potable water supplies. This has been an ongoing programme that we have done.”
The question of sex education in schools and how it should be taught was also a bone of contention.
Henry Anderson
“That’s a major challenge facing government and the Ministry of Education, to ensure that a proper curriculum can be worked out that is not distasteful in any which way. And that at the end of the day we always push abstinence as a first methodology. But reality being what it is, we have to have to look at proven ways to give kids at different ages, the information they need to lead responsible lifestyles.”
Ann-Marie Williams for News 5.
Tablada told News 5 that SHAPES’ revised National Advisory Council will have to be launched by the end of March, before school closes.
